Like civilians returning to their homes after a war, the people of central Copenhagen began reclaiming their streets yesterday.

In the City Hall Square, scene of some of the ugliest violence, the plastic chairs and tables that had been put out in case of trouble were replaced by metal and wooden ones.

The stallholder whose vegetables had been scattered in the fighting laid out her produce, the only danger now coming from scavenging birds.

The roar of violence was replaced by a violinist playing Bach. Sanity had returned to the centre of Copenhagen and the madness had disappeared.

Following two days of intermittent violence between Galatasaray and Arsenal fans, the statistics speak for themselves. Four stabbed, 11 injured, one with a serious head wound and 54 fans arrested.

But this time the English alone cannot be blamed. Sections among both sets of supporters must bear responsibility for the vicious scenes which unfolded.

Once again the old defence that only a minority took part has been raised by police and football officials. Indeed, not all fans were fighting and there were moments of sportsmanship and goodwill, with rival fans swapping scarves and shaking hands.

Trouble first flared early on Wednesday as an army of Galatasaray fans began arriving in the city, outnumbering their Arsenal rivals by almost five to one.

The Turkish fans, singing songs and waving flags, took control of City Hall Square. Most of the Arsenal fans were in four nearby pubs and it quickly became obvious that some among the Turkish contingent were itching for a fight.

A group of Galatasaray fans marched out of the square towards the Bar Absalon, where Arsenal fans were drinking, and once outside, started singing songs and baiting their opponents.

Insults were exchanged but the police appeared reluctant to move in until a bottle flew out of the bar, narrowly missing a Galatasaray fan. The gesture was returned and riot police moved in, only for the mob to break away and turn their venom on other pubs inhabited by Arsenal fans.

The windows of the Scotsman pub on another side of the square were smashed and then fans clashed outside the nearby Rosie McGee pub. Fighting spilled on to the road and Paul Dineen, a 41-year-old Arsenal fan was stabbed.

Riot police eventually moved in and separated the two factions - but it was clear that as far as some Arsenal fans were concerned revenge had to be had.

It came on Wednesday afternoon. Once again, a group of Galatasaray supporters came to a halt outside Bar Absalon. Riot police moved in, quickly pushing them away to one side of the square. The atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense as fans hurled bottles and glasses.

Suddenly a roar ripped across the square and a mob of around 500 Arsenal fans had mounted a carefully orchestrated rearguard attack catching Galatasaray fans, locals and police by surprise.

For around 20 minutes the situation was out of control as rival fans charged at each other, fighting toe to toe and using chairs, tables and metal poles as weapons.

It was a vicious, brutal battle that soon spilled on to surrounding streets as rival mobs charged at each other and some among both groups could be seen wielding knives and clubs.

Not even the firing of tear gas above the heads of the crowd managed to quell them. The screams of innocent people caught up in the trouble could be heard above the roars.

Questions will now be asked as to why the fighting was allowed to spiral out of control, given that Danish police had claimed that they would be mounting one of the biggest security operations in Copenhagen's history.

Danish police were clearly not prepared to deal with troublesome football crowds and were slow to intervene. At the height of the fighting, a line of riot police stood alongside ordinary citizens watching it go on.

Uefa, European football's governing body, also needs to re-examine the staging of major events and ensure proper security measures are in place. The 2,000 police officers the Danes had promised only emerged after the worst of the violence was over.